A potential trade deal between the world’s top two economies hinges on Donald Trump and Xi Jinping overcoming core differences in their negotiation styles, former acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said.

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to speak very soon, a senior White House official told CNBC. The discussion would follow a series of recent flare-ups between Washington and Beijing that threaten to derail a tentative trade agreement between the two economic superpowers.

President Donald Trump says his first conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since returning to the White House had a “very positive conclusion," announcing the two countries will hold trade talks in hopes of breaking an impasse over tariffs and global supplies of rare earth minerals.